"We have a right to go to that school, and I'm certain our governor, who was elected to govern all the people, will decide to do what is just." I felt myself speak aloud before I was ready. Who said that? It sounded like me, but the words . . . where had they come from? The white reporters wrote my words down and behaved as if what I said was very important. Pride welled up inside me, and for the first time, I knew that working for integration was the right thing for me to be doing.

–Warriors Don’t Cry,
Melba Pattillo Beals

What is the central idea of this passage?